07 March 2012

One of the common assumptions in the copyright debate is that artists
are special, and that they have a right to make money from their works
repeatedly, in ways not granted to "ordinary" workers like plumbers or
train drivers, thanks to copyright's reach through time and space. Of
course, when modern copyright was devised in the early 18th century,
artists were special in the sense they were scarce; offering them
special monopoly privileges "for the encouragement of learning" as the
1710 Statute of Anne puts it, therefore made sense.

About Me

I have been a technology journalist and consultant for 30 years, covering
the Internet since March 1994, and the free software world since 1995.

One early feature I wrote was for Wired in 1997:
The Greatest OS that (N)ever Was.
My most recent books are Rebel Code: Linux and the Open Source Revolution, and Digital Code of Life: How Bioinformatics is Revolutionizing Science, Medicine and Business.